Myrtle Beach area town most sought after location that you’ve probably never heard of
The draw of one of South Carolina’s richest cities is not what it has, but what it doesn’t.
There are no businesses, no hotels, no tourists and no public parking in this unassuming beach enclave.
Briarcliffe Acres, tucked between Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach, is overshadowed by its bigger neighbors. Drivers traveling along Highway 17, only spend a few minutes passing through the town limits.
There is a waiting list to move into the oceanfront town. Property rarely comes up for sale, and when it does, it’s snapped up quickly and with a high price tag.
The only exception to a physical business in the town is the Lutheran Church of the Risen Christ, which was annexed in 1977 and is the only property in the town that sits across Highway 17.
It has to be one of Horry County’s most sought-after locations that you’ve probably never heard of. And that’s just the way its residents want it.
“It’s a little secret,” Mayor Dave Buonviri said. “It’s not Myrtle or North Myrtle.”
The town remains much as it was in the early beginning
Briarcliffe Acres was named the sixth richest city in South Carolina by Forbes in 2023. At that time, the town was estimated to have a median household income of $137,000 and a median home value of $659,700.
But as more young professionals move into the town, the figures have changed and so has the homes. Buonviri said people will buy properties, tear down the older ranch homes and rebuild.
The most recent property bought this year sold for more than $1.6 million. According to Zillow, another is on the market for $699,900.
Buonviri said it’s hard to get a handle on how many residents live in the town as more full-timers move in, but according to town records there are currently 527.
The town, which sits along one mile of beach, comprises 260 lots that average about 1 acre. Three lots have not been developed, Buonviri said.
There is no more room to build in the town. Because of that, some home buyers have purchased two lots to build their homes or expand existing ones, Buonviri said.
The contrast between the newer, southern coastal homes and those built in the early 1960s or ‘80s is apparent throughout the town.
A multi-level beachfront home that overlooks the ocean has extra acreage, which has been used for a private beach volleyball court. Another home appears to have plans for an expansive garden.
But while its neighbors Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach are experiencing massive population growth and numerous home developments, Briarcliffe Acres remains much like it was in its beginning, with lakes and pine and oak forests.
The wooded areas add a peaceful, quaint feeling to the small municipality. It also allows for an abundance of wild animals, such as deer, coyotes and lots of birds. The town has been named a bird sanctuary.
Buonviri said the extensive tree canopy helps keep the town quiet and protects it from storms, including Hurricane Matthew which hit the Grand Strand in 2016, causing massive damage to homes, buildings and even destroying piers. While the beach dunes took a hit, for the most part, the town remained unscathed, he said.
The town is quiet. There is little traffic. Most residents drive golf carts to the beach or park in the gated parking lot leading to the cabana.
While the beach is public, there is no parking allowed in the area, and those who violate the posted signs will get a ticket, Buonviri said.
“The town works to maintain and preserve what we have here,” Buonviri said, “(to) make sure we keep it like we have it. Leave it how we found it.”
Few residents move, so few homes for sale
Briarcliffe Acres was named by Kenneth Ellsworth, who purchased 600 acres in 1946 for $150,000 with a vision to develop a retirement community, according to the book “Prolongation of a Vision” by Dorothy Fillius Green.
In 1996, a large amount of land was sold. Nearly 500 acres that neighbors the town is the Meher Spiritual Center, the last remaining undeveloped maritime forest in Horry County.
What’s left makes up the town of Briarcliffe Acres, which has three entrances.
Each resident gets a copy of Green’s book, which provides a history of the town, Buonviri said.
Green moved to Briarcliffe in 1966 and became the town’s unofficial historian, living there for about 38 years until her death in 2004.
Her longevity as a resident is one of the reasons so few properties come up for sale.
Most residents find the town through word of mouth or they drive by, having never been there, and decide to explore the town, said Boling, who is a 20-year resident and primarily sells properties in the town through her real estate agency Century 21 Boling & Associates.
“You just kind of fall in love with it,” Boling said.
Increase in young families and children ‘a breath of fresh air’
Bob Hock can remember when the town’s roads were dirt, not paved as they are now. He lived in Briarcliffe Acres for 30 years before moving to an independent living facility nearby, taking two truck loads of town history with him.
Dot Herron, too, has lived in the town for 30 years, even serving a term as mayor. The mayor position, although elected, is a volunteer role. Buonviri doesn’t receive a salary for running the small town. All the taxes are put into maintaining the town and toward the salaries of its few paid employees, which include its police chief, and only officer, and administrative assistant.
“The people living here has not changed much,” said Houston Bell, who along with his wife, Peggy, have been a resident for 21 years.
Most of the town’s residents include people who are older or like Buonviri, who is retirement age or close to retirement.
Buonviri and his wife have lived in the town for 12 years, having discovered it while on vacation and looking for someplace to retire.
The median age of Briarcliffe is 60, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, but that too seems to be changing.
In the last 10 years, Bell has seen an increase in young families and children.
Buonviri said there was maybe two or three kids for Halloween in 2012. However, last year, there were 30 to 50 kids.
“When we had someone show up for the first time, it kind of shocked us,” Herron said.
“They’ve been a breath of fresh air,” Bell said of seeing the children in the town.
The group of residents are gathered in town hall, which was once the home of Jane Kennedy’s parents. Kennedy points out where different rooms were located, including a bedroom that was painted apricot and is now the police chief’s office.
“I wonder if he kept that color,” she laughs.
Hanging throughout town hall are beautiful paintings – most of coastal or beach scenes – that have been done by residents over the years.
Herron’s is there. She and Bell are part of the Back Porch Painters, a group of residents who get together weekly to talk and paint. There may also be a glass or two of wine.
The name came because the artists gathered on someone’s back porch to paint.
Each year there is an art festival in one of the town’s parks to display the artists’ work and an opportunity for residents to get together.
Maintaining ‘a best-kept secret’
It’s the sense of community that keeps the town going, residents say.
Residents are ready and willing to volunteer their time to do what’s needed for the town.
“It’s a very caring community,” Bell said.
Kennedy does worry what will happen to the town as younger families and professionals move in – many who may not have a lot of time to dedicate.
Buonviri said the town is not a homeowners’ association. Instead, the maintenance and preservation of the town’s community property is taken care of by the Briarcliffe Acres Association, which is independent from the town but collaborates with its administration. Property owners are eligible to become members of the association.
“People still have pride of our community; we just assume to keep it that way,” Kennedy said. “(The town) didn’t want to be famous or notorious.”
But the notoriety seems to come over the years from its residents – many of those with impressive resumes.
State Sen. Greg Hembree, R-Horry, just moved into the town, Buonviri said, and previous residents have included a flight attendant who flew on Air Force One for Presidents Nixon and Reagan.
Even Green, who kept up with such history, was a member of the Department of Justice Treason Mission to Europe in 1946, investigating U.S. citizens’ activities collaborating with the enemy during World War II.
Buonviri said “there are little things we learn every year about who lives here or lived here.”
Kennedy, like many of the residents, still receives letters and calls from real estate agents wanting her to sell her home.
But it’s understandable. It’s one of the few places along the beach in the East Coast, Boling said.
“It’s pretty magical,” Boling said, “with beach access, the neighborhood, the lot size. It is a hidden gem.”
“A best-kept secret,” Kennedy said.
This story was originally published February 17, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
